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It honored the Ki-rin, a mystical creature which was incomprehensible to the mortal mind, and was one of the largest shrines in Phoenix lands, [1] in the called Ki-rin province. [4] The shrine was known for its hospitality and attracted many pilgrims, especially from the Phoenix, Dragon, and Unicorn clans. The Unicorn fast and meditate for eight days upon their arrival; one for each century they spent outside of Rokugan. [5]

It lied along the easternmost Phoenix border beside the vast, unclaimed Dragon Heart Plain. [6] The shrine was difficult to access, located high atop a mountain and reached only by a single road that often became an actual staircase. [7] The Shrine itself stood on a shelf of rock, providing a stunning view of the entirety of the Phoenix provinces, including the Great Wall of the North, which consisted of a large white statue of a Ki-Rin. [8] Near the shrine sat Shiro Morito. [9]

The shrine was built by Asako Matoya out of shame because she had ignored the vision of the Ki-Rin heralding the Return of the Unicorn. However, the family's resources were depleted in trying to build the shrine, and Matoya fell fatally ill before it was completed. A detachment of the Unicorn's Ide Emissaries arrived to complete the construction soon after. Ever since, the Asako family had been prosperous, and some attributed their family's success to Matoya's dedication to the kami. [5] The shrine was tended by a mix of Brotherhood and Asako monks, who were regarded as some of the most knowledgeable monks regarding Celestial creatures. [7]

Once every fall during the Setsuban Festival, the shugenja of Rokugan feasted, politicked and competed in a tournament designed to challenge their wits and abilities. The winner received a cache of scrolls, gathered from all the major schools and monastery in the Empire, gaining the respect of their peers as the greatest shugenja in the land. [10]

The Shrine was a pivotal area for the Dragon-Phoenix War. [1] Since the end of the war, the path to the shrine was been lined with wooden swords bearing the names of those who died in the war as a memorial. [5] The Tamori used their power to raise a great wall of earth around the Shrine. [13] A group of samurai retrieved the Ancestral Armor of the Phoenix Clan, which had been left there by Shiba Tsukune before she ascended as a Fortune. The nemuranai was placed in the hands of the Shiba family. [14] After the end of the war, veterans of both clans had planted wooden swords along the sides of the path leading up the mountain. The blades bore the names of friends who died in the war, and tt became a tradition for warriors from both sides to walk along this path. [15]

The shrine came under attack again in 1171, during the War of Dark Fire. A Yobanjin force was heading towards the shrine when a nearby pass was collapsed upon them by Utaku Reyo, a visitor at the shrine. Reyo had been visited by a Ki-Rin moments earlier, and sacrificed herself to prevent the attack. [16]